Second Half Surge Lifts Florida State to 96-60 Victory

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Behind a 33-point explosion in the first seven minutes and 18 seconds of the second half, the Florida State women’s basketball team cruised to a 96-60 victory over Grambling State at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Saturday night. The Seminoles moved to 8-1 on the year and remain undefeated at home (5-0).

“It turned into something that the players took personally,” head coach Sue Semrau said. “We came out with a great win. It was a lot of fun to watch them in the second half.”

The Seminoles led by just 12 – 49-37 – at the half against the Tigers (1-7). However, Florida State came out blazing in the second frame, scoring the first 14 points and extending its lead to 63-36 in the first four minutes before Grambling State registered its first bucket after halftime.

Senior Alexa Deluzio’s layup with 12:42 left in the contest put FSU ahead 82-43 and capped a game-breaking 33-6 run.

“It was all of the players,” Semrau said. “They want this team to be theirs. I thought in the second half they took over.”

Deluzio reached double figures for the sixth-consecutive game, scoring 23 points. It marked the 10th time in her career and second this season that the Orlando, Fla. native put up 20 or more points in a game.

Two Seminoles recorded double-doubles as senior Chelsea Davis scored 16 points and snatched 11 boards while junior Natasha Howard had 14 points and 10 rebounds. For Davis, it’s the second double-double of her career, while Howard recorded her 17th. FSU held a commanding 58-27 advantage on the glass, including a 19-5 edge on offensive boards.

In addition to Davis, Deluzio and Howard, two more Noles posted double figures as senior Leonor Rodriguez had 17 points and senior Chasity Clayton added 10.

Junior Yashira “Cheetah” Delgado came off the bench and led the team with eight assists. Delgado and Rodriguez both nabbed a career-best five steals apiece as Florida State notched a season-high 18 takeaways that led to 36 points off of turnovers.

FSU also dished a season-best 25 assists.

Sophomore Lauren Coleman entered the game in the second half and posted a career-high seven points and grabbed four rebounds.

Florida State took an early 7-0 lead in the first half before surrendering an 8-2 run to Grambling State. With the Seminoles ahead 9-8, Clayton’s layup sparked an 11-2 run, opening up the Florida State lead to 20-13.

The Tigers refused to go away in the first 20 minutes, though, as the Seminoles clung to a barely double-digit lead at the break.

In the first two minutes after halftime, Davis scored four quick points before Howard added back-to-back layups. After Rodrgiuez made a fastbreak bucket, Deluzio hit two quick shots as the rout continued.

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